Confounding Effect of Flow on Estuarine Response to Nitrogen Loading

The total maximum daily load (TMDL) concept provides the basis for regulating pollution load from riverine sources to impaired water bodies. However, load is comprised of two components: flow and concentration. These two components may have confounding, or even conflicting, effects on waterbody attributes of concern. This is particularly the case for dynamic, advective systems, such as estuaries. Resolving these components is critical for properly predicting the response of impaired systems to watershed management actions. The Neuse River Estuary in North Carolina is an example of such an impaired system. Nitrogen has been identified as the pollutant of concern, and the process of developing a TMDL for nitrogen is underway. We, therefore, analyze the extensive data that have been collected for the Neuse River and estuary to investigate spatiotemporal relationships between river flow, riverine total nitrogen (TN) inputs, water temperature, dissolved inorganic nitrogen concentration, algal density, and primary productivity. Results support the belief that phytoplankton in the estuary are under substantial riverine control. However, the riverine TN concentration alone has only a minor role in determining estuarine chlorophyll concentration. River flow has a stronger influence, likely through its effects on down-estuary nitrogen delivery, residence time, salinity, and turbidity. These results imply that using riverine nitrogen load as the metric to evaluate watershed nutrient management may not be appropriate. While nitrogen controls should reduce loads in the long term, in the short term, river flow is the dominant component of load and has the opposite effect of nitrogen on algae at the up-estuary locations.     

Model reduction for combined surface water/groundwater management formulations

A methodology for clustering stresses on a groundwater system based on similarity of hydrologic response produced by the stress is presented. The method is relevant to the computationally efficient calculation of response matrixes for use in groundwater management and other applications. The procedure is presented for the case in which the impact of pumping withdrawals on streamflow is of interest. The method uses cluster analysis on multiple, transient responses and a simplified response matrix for the modeled system. It is demonstrated on a field scale hypothetical management problem applied to a portion of the Republican River basin in the High Plains Aquifer of the United States with a multi-decadal planning horizon that maximizes well withdrawal while requiring that minimum streamflows be maintained. For this case, the clustering approach both reduces the computational requirement and helps to produce response coefficients with meaningful precision. The effectiveness of the model reduction is tested by comparing the optimal solutions produced by a full scale formulation and two reduced size formulations.     

Development of a cross-section based streamflow routing package for MODFLOW

It is challenging to simulate stream-aquifer interactions for the wide channel streams with the existing stream routing packages of MODFLOW. To overcome this limitation, a Cross-Section streamflow Routing (CSR) package is developed to simulate the streamflow and the interaction between streams and aquifers for the stream with a width larger than the MODFLOW grid size. In the CSR package, streams are divided into stream segments which are formed by two consecutive cross-sections. A cross-section is described by a number of streambed points that determine the geometry and hydraulic properties of the streambed. The stream water depth and streamflow at the cross-sections are related by the Single Channel method, the Divided Channel method, a data table or a power function. A rapid algorithm is used to compute the submerged area of the MODFLOW grid. The streambed conductance of a grid cell is computed based on its submerged area, streambed hydraulic conductivity and thickness. Stream-aquifer seepage is subsequently estimated as the product of the streambed conductance and difference between the stream stage and groundwater hydraulic head. Stream-aquifer seepage is treated as lateral flow in the streamflow routing computation with the Muskingum-Cunge method or mass conservation method. A hypothetical problem is established to test the capabilities of the CSR package with steady- and transient-state models. The results compare favorably with the SFR2 package and the HEC-RAS model. However, significant difference in flood wave attenuation is observed between the CSR package and the SFR2 package. It proves that the CSR package is capable of simulating the variation of stream-aquifer interactions in both space and time efficiently. The CSR package represents a certain improvement over previous MODFLOW streamflow packages by providing the efficient cross-section based computation and the unique capability of simulating streambed heterogeneity in longitudinal and transverse directions.     

USGS Streamflow Data and Modeling Sand-Bed Rivers

United States Geological Survey streamflow data are commonly used for hydraulic model calibration and boundary conditions. The transitory nature of sand-bed rivers’ bathymetry is problematic for the traditional automated stream gauging methods used by the USGS. This note seeks to assess the limitations of streamflow measurements for use in hydraulic models. An overview of USGS rating-curve development and use is presented with a focus on the specific challenges of sand-bed rivers. Measurements from three consecutive USGS gauges for a storm event on the Rio Grande in Albuquerque, New Mexico, illustrate the outlined problems with rating curves. These gauges are utilized to study the impact of uncertainty in rating-curve discharges on hydraulic model results. A one dimensional hydraulic model of the study reach indicates up to 25% reduction in the calculated flow depth if questionable rating-curve discharges are used as model input. Recommendations for using USGS streamflow data in hydraulic models are outlined.     

Ecological effects of groundwater pumping and a natural drought on the upper reaches of a chalk stream

The ecological effects are examined of a three-month test of a groundwater pumping scheme, which augmented flow in a chalk stream in autumn 1975. The impact on the macrophytes and invertebrates in the upper perennial stream which received pumped water were found to be minimal. After pumping ceased, a dry winter and spring led on to a major drought in summer 1976. This prompted operational use of the groundwater pumping scheme in late summer 1976 prior to heavy winter rains which resulted in a return to the normal pattern of discharge in 1977. The ecological effects of the drought, the operational pumping and its aftermath are assessed on three channel reaches: the intermittent zone of the stream, which remained dry throughout 1976; the upper perennial channel where changes in flow regime were most severe; and the lower perennial section of the stream. Drying of the intermittent section for over one year had more severe effects on the invertebrates and fish populations than on the macrophytes, which recovered rapidly after the return of flow. In the upper perennial section, the drought led to siltation of the river-bed, loss of macrophytes and limited habitat diversity for the invertebrate fauna. Further downstream, effects were still detectable, though less severe. Operational pumping brought immediate benefit to the perennial stream by increasing the river width, removing silt and encouraging growth of macrophytes, which provided habitat and food resources for invertebrates. However, in the upper perennial reach, where siltation and loss of macrophytes had been severe, regrowth of macrophytes was slow and the effects of the drought on both macrophytes and invertebrates were still apparent in autumn 1977. It is proposed that a pumping policy that maintains river flow above the level at which siltation and subsequent loss of macrophytes occurs could minimize undesirable ecological effects of extreme low flows.     

PDO和ENSO指数与三江源地区径流变化的相关关系研究

三江源地区是长江、黄河以及澜沧江的发源地。开展该地区水资源预测研究对于该区生态环境保护以及下游水资源合理规划与调配都具有重要意义。现对三江源地区5个主要水文站1957年-2005年的月径流序列,通过统计相关分析,探讨三江源地区径流变化、融雪径流时间变化与ENSO(El Nino-Southern Oscillation)、PDO(Pacific Decadal Oscillation)等大尺度气候信号月/月组合值的关系。研究表明,三江源的香达站(r=0.3,P=0.048)、直门达站(r=0.324,P=0.023)与唐乃亥站(r=0.367,P=0.009)年径流量与水文年前一年8月、9月SOI之和值在95%置信水平上存在正相关关系。香达站(r=-0.359,P=0.017)、唐乃亥站(r=-0.313,P=0.029)以及直门达站(r=-0.314,P=0.028)的月径流与相应前8个月的Nio3.4值呈显著负相关。三江源地区的5个水文站点的月径流都与相应的前第9个月的PDO值呈负相关,且都在95%置信水平上显著。三江源地区融雪径流时间与水文年前一年8月的PDO呈负相关,其中香达站(r=-0.359,P=...     

Validation of Streamflow Measurements Made with Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers

The U.S. Geological Survey and other international agencies have collaborated to conduct laboratory and field validations of acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) measurements of streamflow. Laboratory validations made in a large towing basin show that the mean differences between tow cart velocity and ADCP bottom-track and water-track velocities were ?0.51 and ?1.10%, respectively. Field validations of commercially available ADCPs were conducted by comparing streamflow measurements made with ADCPs to reference streamflow measurements obtained from concurrent mechanical current-meter measurements, stable rating curves, salt-dilution measurements, or acoustic velocity meters. Data from 1,032 transects, comprising 100 discharge measurements, were analyzed from 22 sites in the United States, Canada, Sweden, and The Netherlands. Results of these analyses show that broadband ADCP streamflow measurements are unbiased when compared to the reference discharges regardless of the water mode used for making the measurement. Measurement duration is more important than the number of transects for reducing the uncertainty of the ADCP streamflow measurement.     

Sediment Threshold with Upward Seepage

An analytical model is presented to determine the threshold bed shear stress for noncohesive sediment motion subject to upward seepage on horizontal sedimentary bed under a stream flow. Hydrodynamic, seepage, and micromechanical forces acting on a solitary sediment particle, resting over a sedimentary bed under slip-spinning condition, are analyzed. The correlation coefficient between the results obtained using the present model and the experimental data of threshold bed shear stress with upward seepage on the horizontal bed is 0.767. It indicates that the model predicts satisfactorily the threshold bed shear stress with upward seepage.     

Investigation of Flow Upstream of Orifices

A physical model study is conducted to investigate the flow field upstream of orifices. In particular, new experimental data for the upstream flow pattern resulting from multiple orifices, an orifice near a free surface, and a large orifice (where the pressure gradient across the orifice cannot be ignored) are collected and presented. A new potential flow solution for flow behind orifices is developed to include pressure gradient effects as well as to accurately superpose the solution due to multiple orifices and determine a solution close to orifices. The proposed solution compares well with the measured data for multiple orifices and for an orifice near a free surface. For a large orifice, the skew in the velocity profile in the vertical direction due to the pressure gradient is accurately predicted.     

Ramp Kernels for Aquifer Responses to Arbitrary Stream Stage

Analytical expressions for ramp kernels (new kernels) for an improved convolution for obtaining aquifer responses, viz, groundwater head, rate, and cumulative volume of groundwater flow, to an arbitrary stage, are obtained. The use of the ramp kernels gives accurate aquifer responses and is superior to the conventional convolution in which numerical integration or pulse kernels are used. The extent of improvement in the results with the use of the ramp kernels is discussed and quantified for three examples, where the results are compared to analytical solutions. For the comparisons, the analytical solutions for linear and sinusoidal stream stages are derived. The use of the ramp kernels reproduces accurately the analytical solutions. The concept of ramp kernels can also be used for obtaining an accurate solution of convolution integrals observed in other fields.